Successful leaders understand the value in appreciating employees for great work. Effective rewards and recognition programs can almost run themselves if implemented properly. If you notice participation and enthusiasm beginning to wane, it may be time to revamp your engagement strategy.

If your current strategy is outdated or not user friendly, if the interface feels slow, or if your employees have made complaints, be sure to re-strategize to ensure they know their opinions are important.

If you’ve made adjustments to your mission, values, and workplace guidelines, be sure engagement and performance metrics follow suit.

If your strategy does not cater to today's workforce, it may need updating. With millennials making up 75% of the current work force, an understanding of this generation’s behavioral patterns and values is vital. According to a recent SHRM study, Baby Boomers prefer formal, public recognition while Millennials prefer less formal and more frequent recognition. Because of these generational differences, it is important to create a strategy that aligns recognition types with different generations.

Making changes to stay ahead of declining employee engagement is important to keep any organization flowing smoothly. Positive employee engagement has been proven to improve productivity, team collaboration, better employee input, increased employee retention, and enhanced office culture. Any organization that wants to be competitive and thrive needs to have a carefully planned employee engagement strategy.